Way up a holler between a couple of prominent knobs, below Panther (pronounced "Painter") Knob, we're building a log cabin. Go to the archives and start at the bottom for a chronological story. Comments are welcome! This diary of a project may digress and venture into literature, life, and my reflections on any particular day.

I haven't had the talk with our cabin yet -- the one about protection. Using locust beneath it and building a good overhang on the roof will help. But it being high summer, I've grown anxious to prevent any initial fungus, rot, or invasion of pests. So, last week, my seven-foot-tall neighbor, Eric (second picture here), came over from his adjacent branch of our holler with an extension ladder to help me string up a 40x20 foot tarp, hung like a kite to drain water, high enough to build our roof under its shelter. Pictures soon -- it was an adventure, and I'm grateful.

Also, I sprayed the logs with this, recommended by John at Schroeder Log Home Supply -- he was very helpful, and their website and print catalogue are excellent resources:

And I'm very curious to know what kind of small beetle or insect is causing these tiny tubes of sawdust to protrude from some of the logs, like ash on the end of a cigarette. It had to have just invaded, because we cut them in June. I'm not worried, but if the Penetreat doesn't get them then I'll have to figure out how to address it.